Painful Closing Seconds, Especially For Boatright

STORRS — A final play designed first to go to Myles Turner flashing to the basket switched in a flash to Jonathan Holmes wide open in the left corner. Of course the game-winning three ball Holmes dropped on UConn Sunday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion hurt. It hurt plenty.

Just ask Ryan Boatright. His left ankle collapsed off a back screen set by Demarcus Holland, Boatright could only sprawl on the floor and watch as Holmes swished the three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give No. 7 Texas a 55-54 victory over the No. 24 Huskies.

"Man, it was crazy," said Boatright, sitting in the interview room afterward, crutches an arm's length away. "When I fell, when I rolled it and I was falling, I'm watching him the whole time. So it was just like slow motion.

"As I'm watching the ball go through the air, I didn't even feel my ankle. It was numb. As soon as I saw the ball went through the basket, it just shot straight through me. Pain."

Coaches and players, those who live and die every play over the course of a game, are quick to point out an entire outcome does not hinge on a single moment. There is a healthy degree of truth in this, of course. And, surely, we could point to the Huskies' 30.4 percent shooting, including 0-for-7 on threes in the second half. We could point to Sam Cassell Jr.'s painful 2-for-11 outing, including 1-for-7 on threes, and assert that if he had hit one more shot the Huskies wouldn't have suffered their first regular-season loss at Gampel since his daddy played for Florida State that February night in 1993.

The Huskies were smarting, dinged up — and frustrated — after losing to Texas 55-54 at...

STORRS — Ryan Boatright made his way down the hall on crutches, still in his uniform, a bag of ice already applied to his left ankle.

"I'm a dog," he said as he turned into the trainers' room. "I'll be back."

The Huskies were smarting, dinged up — and frustrated — after losing to Texas 55-54 at...

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We could point, too, to the back-to-back, over-the-back fouls on the offensive end by Kentan Facey, with 2:48 left, and Boatright, with 2:08 left. Coaches Kevin Ollie and Rick Barnes certainly did. Those plays stopped the clock. The four free throws cut the lead from five to one. The momentum gained by stopping Texas' half-court offense in the second half went awry.

But sometimes, sometimes, as on this afternoon, it also comes down to one play. Unable to get any semblance of offensive order after a missed free throw by Boatright with 15 seconds left, Barnes called a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining. As the Longhorns broke their huddle to set up for the play Barnes designed, Ollie called his own timeout. He went to his grease board.

Rodney Purvis, who sprained his left ankle in Puerto Rico last week, had hoped to give it a try against Texas on Sunday. But he could...

STORRS — Injuries are leaving the Huskies thin in the backcourt, though they have some built-in time to get healthy and whole with just one game in the next 13 days.

Rodney Purvis, who sprained his left ankle in Puerto Rico last week, had hoped to give it a try against Texas on Sunday. But he could...

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"We wanted to switch [on] everything and guard in the corner," Ollie said.

With Javan Felix, guarded by Terrence Samuel, on the perimeter on the far side of the court, Barnes felt he had a decoy to get a man away from the basket. Cassell, wildly doing jumping jacks, was on Connor Lammert, the inbounding passer on the left sideline.

"The first look was to Myles [guarded by Amida Brimah] slipping to the rim," Barnes said. "They defended that pretty good. They had someone on the ball.

"We wanted two there, but when Jon's open, he obviously is going to take that shot."

On the inbounds, Holmes was guarded by Daniel Hamilton, 25 feet from the rim and 10 feet from Lammert. Holland, guarded by Boatright, was in the left corner. Turner started out between his two teammates before he headed to the basket and took Brimah with him.

Holmes, Hamilton, Holland and Boatright all converged near the three-point line about even with the foul line. Hamilton got ensnared. Down went Boatright. And from that mass of humanity, Holmes was sprung. Then came his dagger from the left corner.

"In the huddle, we said switch everything," Hamilton said. "I guess the guy down behind me [Boatright] didn't know [Holland] was setting a back screen, but he set a back screen on me. We were supposed to switch everything.

"I guess we just got confused. My guy ended up getting open for a shot. It was uncontested. He just knocked it down, knocked down a tough shot."

What Hamilton didn't fully realize was Boatright's left ankle, one he initially rolled with 5:58 left in the game, had submarined his intentions.

"When I realized we were supposed to switch every ball, whatever screen, when I realized my man was setting the screen, when I planted to go back the other way, the ankle kind of gave out," Boatright said.

Boatright had no idea how he rolled his ankle six minutes earlier. He said he was fighting for a rebound and wasn't sure whether he stepped on somebody's foot. He was sure he was in trouble as Holmes spurted free to the corner, collecting Lammert's inbounds pass.

"I'm guessing the first look to Myles wasn't open," said Holmes, 3-for-12 before he unleashed the winner. "The second look was D Holland screening for me to the corner. I was just trying to get to the spot where Coach drew up on the board. D did a really good job. Conner did a real good job delivering the pass to me."

Was he surprised how open he was?

"Yeah," Holmes said, "that's about as good a look as you're going to get with four seconds left."

Holmes told a Texas reporter the Longhorns had run that play only once in a scrimmage and he missed the shot. He was a little surprised Barnes called it. Barnes, meanwhile, said they have the play in their arsenal and made a little adjustment to it.

Of course, Holmes had to make the shot, too. Brimah, all 7 feet of him, went charging from the lane to the corner, leaping in vain to alter the shot. Swish. Holmes's momentum sent him toward the student section, which collectively went from jumping up and down like maniacs to settling into a quiet stillness. The stout Felix, who I'm dying to call Felix El-Amin, picked off Hamilton's wild inbounds pass and, flash, Gampel was the school library.

"It was a great play," Boatright said. "[Holmes] made a tough shot. It's basketball. You've got to live with it and get better."

Boatright said he wasn't sure whether he'd make it back for the Yale game Friday. But with the following game not until Dec. 14, he figures that would be the only game he would miss.

"I'm a dog," Boatright said in the hallway. "I'll be back."

It's funny. Barnes said it was the worst Texas played offensively this season. UConn didn't score a field goal the final 6:51, and Ollie and his players talked plenty about getting in the gym and working on their touch after this shooting stinker.

"I know how hard it is to win here," said Barnes, who took his fair share of lumps at Gampel as the Providence coach.

Initially covering Samuel while Felix collaborated with a big man in an effort to contain Boatright, Holland did a good job on UConn's leading scorer in the closing minutes. Then again Boat was hurting. The defensive effort on both teams was strong. The offense on both sides was weak. That's why Barnes called his timeout.

"I just told the team in the locker room that the only time they really listened and did what we asked was the last play," he said. "Up until that point I kept looking at the guys and said, `What are we doing?'"